Topographic map of Bolivia showing (east to west) plains of in green, Sub-Andean_Zone_in_red,_Cordillera_Oriental_(Bolivia).html" ;"title="Geology of Bolivia#Lowlands and Sub-Andean zone">Sub-Andean Zone in red,
Eastern_Cordillera_in_white,_Altiplano.html" ;"title="Cordillera Oriental (Bolivia)">Eastern Cordillera in white, Altiplano">Cordillera Oriental (Bolivia)">Eastern Cordillera in white, Altiplano in gray, and Western Cordillera in white
The Cordillera Occidental or Western Cordillera of Bolivia is part of the Andes (that is also part of the American Cordillera), a mountain range characterized by volcanic activity, making up the natural border with
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...
and starting in the north with
Juqhuri
Juqhuri (Aymara ''jughu'' muddy place, ''-ri'' a suffix, Hispanicized spelling ''Jucure, Jucuri'') is a mountain in the Andes of southern Peru, about high. It lies in the Tacna Region, Tarata Province, Tarata District. Juqhuri is situated ne ...
and ending in the south at the
Licancabur
Licancabur () is a stratovolcano on the border between Bolivia and Chile, south of the Sairecabur volcano and west of Juriques. Part of the Andean Central Volcanic Zone, it has a prominent, -high cone. A summit crater containing Licancabur L ...
volcano, which is on the southern limit of Bolivia with Chile. The border goes through the innominated point located at two-thirds of elevation of Licancabur's northeastern slope at the southwestermost point of Bolivia at 22° 49' 41" south and 67° 52' 35" west. The climate of the region is cold and inadequate for animal and plant life. Its main feature is its ground, in which are large quantities of metallic minerals including
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
,
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
,
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pink ...
, and others. The range consists of three sections:
* The northern section, in which you can find the highest peaks in Bolivia, the tallest of which is the volcano
Sajama at 6,542 meters. Sajama is perennially covered in snow. It contains the volcanoes
Pomerape
Pomerape is a stratovolcano lying on the border of northern Chile and Bolivia (Oruro Department, Sajama Province, Curahuara de Carangas Municipality). It is part of the Payachata complex of volcanoes, together with Parinacota Volcano to the sout ...
and
Parinacota (called
Payachata
Payachata or Paya Chata (Aymara ''pä, paya'' two, Pukina ''chata'' mountain, "two mountains") is a north–south trending complex of potentially active volcanos on the border of Bolivia and Chile, directly north of Chungará Lake. The complex con ...
collectively) the latter being a dormant volcano with a cone of snow similar to
Mount Fuji
, or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highest ...
in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
.
* The central section, situated between
Uyuni and
Coipasa. Its most prominent summit is the
Ollagüe (Ullawi) volcano on the border with Chile.
* The southern section, characterized by volcanic activity and by having sandstorms and fog, taking into account
Licancabur
Licancabur () is a stratovolcano on the border between Bolivia and Chile, south of the Sairecabur volcano and west of Juriques. Part of the Andean Central Volcanic Zone, it has a prominent, -high cone. A summit crater containing Licancabur L ...
, which is 5,920 meters high (but only two-thirds of the northeastern slope of the volcano belong to Bolivia up to 5415 meters). The lakes
Laguna Colorada
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Laguna Colorada (''Red Lagoon'') is a shallow salt lake in the southwest of the altiplano of Bolivia, within Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve and close to the border with Chile.
Contents
The lake contains borax islands, w ...
and
Laguna Verde can be found on Licancabur, so named because of their respective colors.
See also
*
Cordillera Central (Bolivia)
The Cordillera Central is a Bolivian mountain range that divides the three river basins in the country and also has the second highest peaks in Bolivia. It is rich in minerals and starts in the north with Chawpi Urqu and the three Palumanis tha ...
*
Cordillera Oriental (Bolivia)
The Cordillera Oriental or Eastern Cordillera is a set of parallel mountain ranges of the Bolivian Andes, emplaced on the eastern and north eastern margin of the Andes. Large parts of Cordillera Oriental are forested and humid areas rich in agri ...
*
Cordillera Occidental (disambiguation)
*
Licancabur
Licancabur () is a stratovolcano on the border between Bolivia and Chile, south of the Sairecabur volcano and west of Juriques. Part of the Andean Central Volcanic Zone, it has a prominent, -high cone. A summit crater containing Licancabur L ...
Mountain ranges of Bolivia
Mountain ranges of Chile
Landforms of Arica y Parinacota Region
Landforms of Oruro Department
Landforms of Potosí Department
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